This invention relates in general to door fastening means and, more particularly, to an auxiliary latch for preventing unauthorized door opening by children.
Heretofore, various efforts have been undertaken for providing a fastener to be utilized with primarily doors and sometimes windows in addition to the provided locks or latches for preventing the opening of the door or window as the case may be by a child who may have previously determined the appropriate operation of the provided latch or lock. Such prior attempts are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,128,479, which comprehends a complex member developed as of spring steel and incorporating interacting elements as well as being designed for permanent adherence to one of the door components. The Andreas U.S. Pat. No. 1,516,692 also shows a door fastener comprising a pair of coacting intricately constructed elements for rigid adherence to the door and adjacent jamb. The child-proof latch of the Hillman patent is a very complex device containing a multiplicity of components which are integrated into the door structure. Other attempts to solve the problem of inhibiting improper entry into a room by a child are shown in the Wilzig et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,838; Reidhaar U.S. Pat. No. 1,773,751 and the Schuette U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,126. A careful review of these last-mentioned patents will disclose the fundamental objection to all current expedients for rendering doors child-proof and that is the complexity of the individual constituents of the systems used and the necessity of affixing same in a manner which requires all too often modification of the door components.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary door latch which may be easily applied to existing door constructions without necessitating any fundamental modification thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary door latch which is of a detachable character so that it may be optionally applied to a particular door construction when desired an thus not necessarily remain a permanent component thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a door latch of the character stated which can be applied to the door and related structure in a preselected manner for facile compatibility with the structure involved.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary door latch comprising a limited number of durable components which may be most economically produced so that the replacement of any one or all of the same is easily achieved.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary latch of the character stated which is entirely reliable in usage; which may be affixed in operative position by the average unskilled individual; which is durable in usage; and which is reliably effective.